Plastic Testing Methods - Tensile Testing of Plastics
 

Scope:
Tensile tests measure the force required to break a specimen and the extent to which the specimen stretches or elongates to that breaking point. Tensile tests produce a stress-strain diagram, which is used to determine tensile modulus. The data is often used to specify a material, to design parts to withstand application force and as a quality control check of materials. Since the physical properties of many materials (especially thermoplastics) can vary depending on ambient temperature, it is sometimes appropriate to test materials at temperatures that simulate the intended end use environment.

Test Procedure:
Specimens are placed in the grips of the Instron at a specified grip separation and pulled until failure. For ASTM D638 the test speed is determined by the material specification. For ISO 527 the test speed is typically 5 or 50mm/min for measuring strength and elongation and 1mm/min for measuring modulus. An extensometer is used to determine elongation and tensile modulus.

Elevated or Reduced Temperature Test Procedure:
A thermal chamber is installed on the Instron universal test machine. The chamber is designed to allow the test mounts from the base and crosshead of the Instron to pass through the top and bottom of the chamber. Standard test fixtures are installed inside the chamber, and testing is conducted inside the controlled thermal environment the same as it would be at ambient temperature. The chamber has internal electric heaters for elevated temperatures and uses external carbon dioxide gas as a coolant for reduced temperatures. The size of the chamber places a limitation on the maximum elongation that can be reached, and extensometers are generally limited to no more than 200° C.

Specimen Size:
The most common specimen for ASTM D638 is a Type I tensile bar. The most common specimen for ISO 527 is the ISO 3167 Type 1A multipurpose specimen. ASTM D882 uses strips cut from thin sheet or film.

Data:
The following calculations can be made from tensile test results:
1. tensile strength (at yield and at break)
2. tensile modulus
3. strain
4. elongation and percent elongation at yield
5. elongation and percent elongation at break
 

1. Tensile Testing of Thin Plastic Sheeting

2. Tensile Testing of Plastics using Microtensile Specimens
    

Plastic Testing Methods :

1. Ash Content ASTM D5630, D2584, ISO 3451

2. ASTM Sample Preparation - Machining, Molding, Conditioning ASTM D3641

3. Barcol Hardness ASTM D2583

4. Brookfield Viscosity (Relative Viscosity of Polyamides) ASTM D789, D4878

5. Bulk Density ASTM D1895B

6. Capillary Rheometry - Shear Sweep ASTM D3835, ISO 11443

7. Capillary Rheometry - Thermal Stability ASTM D3853, ISO 11443

8. Carbon Black Content ASTM D1603

9. Charpy Impact ISO-179

10. Chemical Compatibility ASTM D543, ISO 4599, UL

11. Chip Resistance of Coatings ASTM D3170, SAE J400

12. CIE Lab (Color Analysis) ASTM D6290, E1347, E308

13. Coefficient Of Friction ASTM D1894

14. Coefficient of Thermal Expansion ASTM E831, D696, ISO 11359

15. Cold Bend UL 1581-580

16. Color Analysis ASTM D6290, E1347, E308

17. Compression Set ASTM D395

18. Compression Test ASTM D695, ISO 604

19. Deflection Temperature Under Load (HDT) ASTM D648 and ISO 75

20. Density/Specific Gravity ASTM D792, ISO 1183

21. Dielectric Constant/Dissipation Factor ASTM D150, IEC 60250

22. Dielectric Strength ASTM D149, IEC 60243

23. Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) ASTM D3417, D3418, E1356, ISO 11357

24. Dimensional Stability ASTM D1204

25. Durometer Hardness (Shore) ASTM D2240

26. Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA) ASTM D4065, D4440, D5279

27. Dynatup Impact (Instrumented Impact) ASTM D3763, ISO 6603, 7765

28. Electron Microscopy - SEM

29. Elmendorf Tear ASTM D1922

30. Extractions FDA, ASTM D4754

31. Falling Dart Impact (Film) ASTM D1709, ISO 7765-1

32. Falling Dart Impact (Gardner) ASTM D4226, D5420, D5628

33. Flammability UL, ASTM D635, ISO 3795, 49CFR-571-302

34. Flexural Test ASTM D790 and ISO 178

35. Fogging SAE J1756, ISO 6452, DIN 75201

36. Fourier Transform Infrared Analysis (FTIR) ASTM E1252

37. Gardner Impact ASTM D4226, D5420, D5628

38. Gloss ASTM D523, D2457

39. Gravelometer ASTM D3170, SAE J400

40. Haze and Transmittance ASTM D1003

41. High Speed Puncture(Dynatup) ASTM D3763, ISO 6603, 7765

42. Hunter Lab (Color Analysis) ASTM D6290, E1347, E308

43. Index of Refraction ASTM D542

44. Inherent Viscosity ASTM D4603

45. Intrinsic Viscosity ASTM D2857

46. Instrumented Impact (Dynatup) ASTM D3763, ISO 6603, 7765

47. Instrumented Puncture (Dynatup) ASTM D3763, ISO 6603, 7765

48. ISO Multipurpose Test Specimen ISO 3167

49. ISO Sample Preparation - Machining, Molding, Conditioning ISO 294 / 2818 / 3167

50. Izod Impact (Notched) ASTM D256, ISO 180

51. Izod Impact (Unnotched) ASTM D4812, ISO 180

52. Lap Shear ASTM D3163, D5868

53. Melt Flow Index ASTM D1238, D3364, ISO 1133

54. Melt Viscosity GE

55. Moisture Content by Karl Fischer ASTM D789

56. Mold Shrinkage ASTM D955, ISO 2577

57. Multiaxial Impact (Dynatup) ASTM D3763, ISO 6603, 7765

58. Notched Izod Impact ASTM D256, ISO 180

59. Oven Aging ASTM, UL

60. Oxygen Index ASTM D2863

61. Peel Test ASTM D903, D1876, D3167

62. Poisson's Ratio ASTM D638, ISO 527

63. Polycarbonate Compatibility EIA 564-1992

64. Propagation Tear Resistance of Plastic Film ASTM D1922

65. Puncture Test FTMS 101C - Method 2065

66. QUV Accelerated Weathering - ASTM D4329, D4587, ISO 4892, SAE J2020

67. Refractive Index ASTM D542

68. Relative Viscosity ASTM D2857

69. Relative Viscosity of Polyamides (Brookfield Viscosity ) ASTM D789, D4878

70. Rockwell Hardness ASTM D785, ISO 2039

71. Sample Preparation - Machining, Molding, Conditioning

72. Scanning Electron Microscopy - SEM

73. Shear Test ASTM D732

74. Shore Hardness (Durometer) ASTM D2240

75. Short Beam Shear ASTM D2344

76. Specific Gravity/Density ASTM D792, D1045, ISO 1183

77. Specular Gloss ASTM D523, D2457

78. Surface Resistivity ASTM D257, IEC60093

79. Taber Abrasion ASTM D1044, D3389, D4060

80. Tear Resistance ASTM D1004

81. Tensile Impact ASTM D1822

82. Tensile Set - Rubber - ASTM D412

83. Tensile Test Plastics - ASTM D638, ISO 527

84. Tensile Test Plastics - Thin Sheet ASTM D882

85. Tensile Test Plastics - Microtensile ASTM D1708

86. Tensile Test Rubber - ASTM D412

87. Extensometers

88. Video Extensometers

89. Thermal Indexing UL 746B

90. Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) ASTM E1131, ISO 11358

91. UL Thermal Indexing UL 746B

92. Ultraviolet/Visible Spectrophotometry (UV/VIS) ASTM D1003

93. Unnotched Izod Impact ASTM D4812, ISO 180

94. V-Notch Shear ASTM D5379

95. Vicat Softening Point ASTM D1525, and ISO 306

96. Void Content ASTM D2734

97. Volume Resistivity ASTM D257, IEC 60093

98. Water Absorption - 24 Hour ASTM D570

99. Water Absorption - Equilibrium ASTM D570

100. Water Vapor Transmission ASTM E96

101. Weathering - QUV ASTM D4329, D4587, ISO 4892, SAE J2020

102. Weathering - Xenon Arc (Weather-Ometer®) ASTM D2565, D4459, G155, SAE J1885, J1960

103. Weight Gain/Loss Studies ASTM D471

104. Xenon Arc Accelerated Weathering (Weather-Ometer®) ASTM D2565, D4459,

105. G155, SAE J1885, J1960

106. Yellowness Index (YI) ASTM E313